What is the root cause of chronic pain? Western medicine typically tries to solve the problem with surgery, but what if what’s ailing us is not in our back or our knees—but in our brain? What if there are simple, accessible tools any of us can use to separate from our anxiety, quiet the central nervous system and heal our chronic pain?

Dr. David Hanscom is the creator of Back in Control, a platform dedicated to helping people solve chronic pain. He spent 32 years as an orthopedic spine surgeon before quitting his practice in 2018 to educate the public on the danger of unnecessary surgical interventions and the true cause of chronic pain. Dr. David is also the author of two seminal books, Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? Take Control with a Surgeon’s Advice and Back in Control: A Spine Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain.

On this episode of Men on Purpose, Dr. David joins Emerald to explain why chronic pain is a neurological problem, not a structural one. He shares his top tools for resolving chronic pain, describing how we can separate from our anxiety and rewire our brain to dampen its stress response. Listen in for Dr. David’s insight on the connection between mental pain and chronic pain and learn how to leverage expressive writing to lower the stress chemicals in your system!

What You Will Learn

What called Dr. David to quit his practice and focus on solving chronic pain

Why chronic pain is a neurological problem rather than a structural one

Dr. David’s simple tools for resolving chronic pain

• Relaxation
• Mindfulness
• Expressive writing
• Not discussing pain
• Sleep

How spine surgery is NOT effective in easing back pain

Dr. David’s insight on separating from our anxiety

How to rewire your brain to dampen your stress response

The connection between mental pain and chronic pain

The challenges Dr. David faces in helping people relieve their chronic pain

Connect with Dr. David Hanscom

Back in Control

Back in Control: A Spine Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain by Dr. David Hanscom

Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? Take Control with a Surgeon’s Advice by Dr. David Hanscom

Resources

Dr. David’s Blog on Psychology Today

National Publicity Summit

Wickedly Smart Women Podcast

Connect with Emerald GreenForest

Creative Age Consulting Group

Emerald’s Website

Emerald on LinkedIn

Emerald on Twitter

Emerald on Instagram

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